"At 8.50am that day, the first alarm was activated in the supported accommodation where he was living. Staff went to his door, and there was smoke streaming out from under it."

When Woodgate opened the door, grey smoke billowed out and the staff could see flames in the room behind him.

He admitted a charge of malicious communications and another of arson.

Defending, Patrick Mason said Woodgate - a former teaching assistant - was a "sad, isolated individual," who had been in dispute with members of his family for some time.

"He's depressed, he's miserable and after losing his job he's become more isolated," he said. "He's led a miserable life."

He said that his client's mind was "not functioning" at the time of the incident.

"He decided to try and end it all by smoking himself to death in his room. He's been in custody for three months and made a serious suicide attempt while in jail. It is hard to imagine someone someone less suited to prison."